Patio at Yankee Doodle Tap Room (image via Nassau Inn blog, click to expand).
Our next Walkable Princeton meetup will be Wednesday August 19. From 7 p.m., we will get together to discuss current news and opportunities for making Princeton more walkable for everyone! We’ll be returning to Yankee Doodle Tap Room, potentially taking advantage of the patio if weather and space permits! Continue reading
31-33 Lytle Street Princeton, as pictured earlier this year. The house is still facing the wrecking ball, but new affordable housing may be coming to part of the site (click to expand).
Princeton Council are scheduled tonight to approve a plan to knock down the historic house at 31 Lytle Street. The house was acquired by a developer, with plans to demolish and build townhouses. Princeton Council instead aimed to turn the lot into a park, which would be an extension of Mary Moss Park next door. Now, based on a compromise worked out by a group of local residents, Council will set aside part of the lot for construction of new affordable residences, which will incorporate some features of the original house. The rest of the lot will become an extension for Mary Moss Park, which will be renovated at the same time. If you are able, you may want to attend Council to support the plan to add affordable homes to this site. Continue reading
Larini’s Service Center on Alexander Road in Princeton, which closed earlier this week. (click to expand)
Princeton University has closed on the site of Larini’s Service Center, which for several decades ending this week has occupied the corner of Alexander Road and Faculty Road, providing automotive services to local residents. Philip Sean Curran at the ‘Princeton Packet’ has been all over the story, breaking the news earlier this week and following up with a full interview from Mr Larini, who expressed mixed emotions about closing his Princeton business. But the big question now is what will happen to the site, which potentially offers the town a huge opportunity to promote transit-oriented development. The site is just a 6-minute walk from the bus and rail hub at Princeton station, and a 20-minute walk from downtown Princeton. Continue reading
Porous pavement at parking lot at Mercer Museum, Doylestown, PA (click to expand)
Here’s something interesting spotted on a recent visit to Doylestown, PA: it’s a parking lot with porous pavement. As seen in the photo above, the area where cars are parked is made up of a type of asphalt that allows water to flow through. Continue reading
Aurelio’s, at 44 Leigh Avenue in Princeton. (click to expand)
If you’re wondering what happened to the old Cafe 44 space, after the popular bruncherie moved across the street to 41 Leigh Avenue in December, here’s your answer. The space has been renovated and reopened as Aurelio’s Cocina Latina. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, Aurelio’s is the latest great addition to Princeton’s eating-out scene, and it’s right in the heart of the ultra-walkable Witherspoon-John neighborhood. Continue reading
Princeton has axed a planned bike lane on Hamilton Ave (click to expand, image credit: brittgow on Flickr)
Despite promising to add a bike lane on the north side Hamilton Avenue earlier this year, Princeton Council last night waved through a plan to re-stripe the road with no bike lanes at all. The switcheroo was discussed in the ‘reports’ section of the regular meeting, and therefore was not even listed on the official agenda. This is the second ‘Complete Streets’ project that has been axed by the town in the last three weeks. But the news may not be all bad, as municipal engineer Deanna Stockton announced that the town’s application for an NJDOT grant has been successful. The grant, through the ‘Local Technical Assistance Program’, will allow the town to engage a consulting firm to work with the community to devise a holistic bicycle circulation plan. This plan is intended to guide future engineering projects, to make streets as safe as possible for all users. Continue reading
View across Lake Manalapan from Thompson Park in Monroe Township, NJ. (click to expand).
Monroe Township, a town 12 miles east of Princeton, won a legal victory today, as a judge granted temporary protection from developer lawsuits. Earlier this year, the NJ Supreme Court made a ruling that would potentially allow developers to ignore local zoning and build affordable housing in towns throughout the state. But the court also gave towns the option of filing for a 5-month delay, and most towns have now done so. At the end of that period, they will have to prove that their housing plans meet the requirement of the State Constitution to provide a ‘Fair Share’ of affordable housing. If not, a judge may give developers the right to build that affordable housing under a so-called “builder’s remedy”. Continue reading
This parking lot on Franklin Avenue is the subject of a potential plan to build new affordable housing in Princeton (click to expand.)
Last month, a Princeton Council task force published a report naming 13 suitable sites for new affordable housing. One of the proposed sites was a parking lot on Franklin Avenue, that is set to be donated to the town by Princeton University. But last week, members of a new group appeared before Council, asking for the site to be turned into a park instead. Continue reading
Downtown Princeton, as seen from inside a NJ Transit bus. (click to expand.)
The recent announcement from NJ Transit that the Princeton-Plainsboro ‘HealthLine’ bus will be canceled has drawn local condemnation, and also some questions. How bad was the ridership for NJ Transit to cancel the service? Using recent ridership statistics from NJ Transit, we can compare the HealthLine bus to other bus and rail services connecting Princeton to the surrounding area… Continue reading
Statistics on traffic speed on Valley Road show that just 27% of drivers are operating at or within 5 mph of the posted speed limit. (click to expand).
3 out of every 4 drivers on Valley Road in Princeton speeds. That’s the shocking result of a traffic study commissioned by the Princeton Engineering Department, which was released as part of a recent community meeting. Continue reading
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